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History · Niantic

Niantic’s post office opened in 1858, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Niantic began

When was Niantic founded?

1858

The Niantic post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 321 in 18802020 census: 612168 years
Founding year: the first Niantic post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Niantic’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Niantic are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Niantic’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Niantic’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Niantic’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Niantic came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Niantic.

Read it all →

Niantic was among the earliest settled townships in the county. In 1825, Joseph Strickling, a native of Ohio, first settled in what is now Niantic Township. He erected the first log cabin in Niantic.

From 1825 to 1840, there were very few permanent settlers. The township's population varied on settlers setting up temporary homes on their way to the American West. The first schoolhouse was a log cabin built in 1847.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Niantic, 1880–1930

Passages that mention Niantic, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Niantic township took its name from the town of Niantic which had been named for a town in Connecticut, the former home of some of the early settlers in the township. The name, Niantic, is an Indian name.
Centennial history of Decatur and Macon county1930 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text

Niantic township took its name from the town of Niantic which had been named for a town in Connecticut, the former home of some of the early settlers in the township. The name, Niantic, is an Indian name.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
At that time there were few settlements on the prairie in Niantic township. Improvements had been made along the timber, but the prairie lay open and uncultivated. The Wabash railway had recently been put in operation through the western part of the county, and the town of Niantic had just begun it…
History of Macon County, Illinois1880 · page 177Read the page →
Read the text

At that time there were few settlements on the prairie in Niantic township. Improvements had been made along the timber, but the prairie lay open and uncultivated. The Wabash railway had recently been put in operation through the western part of the county, and the town of Niantic had just begun its growth.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
man of very fine attainments and an elegant and polished Christian gentleman. Revs. John W. Tyler and John England were also among the early preachers. A Dr. Stewart, who located in the town of Niantic in 1856, was the first physician. In the year 1856, Joab Wilkinson was elected the first justice …
History of Macon County, Illinois1880 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text

man of very fine attainments and an elegant and polished Christian gentleman. Revs. John W. Tyler and John England were also among the early preachers. A Dr. Stewart, who located in the town of Niantic in 1856, was the first physician. In the year 1856, Joab Wilkinson was elected the first justice of the peace, which position he continued to fill for several years.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Niantic, 1858 to 1954

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Niantic post office opens
  3. 1887Born hereArt Phelan is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Niantic, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Welcome to2007Welcome toNiantic Illinois grain elevators2007Niantic Illinois grain elevatorsNiantic Illinois Water Tower2007Niantic Illinois Water TowerNiantic Illinois Village Hall2007Niantic Illinois Village HallNiantic Illinois Fire Station2007Niantic Illinois Fire StationNiantic Illinois Farmers Elevator2007Niantic Illinois Farmers Elevator
On the map

Niantic on the map, 1954 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Niantic. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Niantic on the 1954 USGS mapNiantic on the 1982 USGS map1954Niantic sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Niantic.

People over time

Niantic, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 761

Between 321 and 761 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Niantic’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Niantic’s history

What year was Niantic founded?

The Niantic post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.